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New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and
numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation,
being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, approximately
2000 kilometers (1250 miles). Its closest neighbors to the north are New
Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The population of New Zealand is about 4.5 million
(about that of Louisiana or Alabama, USA) and is mostly of European descent,
with the indigenous Maori being the largest minority.
The name derives from the first European visitor, Dutch
explorer Abel Tasman, who named the place Staten Landt. This was changed by
Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. The
Latin Nova Zeelandia became Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. British explorer James Cook
subsequently called the archipelago New Zealand, the current name. In Maori, New
Zealand is also known as Aotearoa, which is usually translated into
English
as the
"Land of the Long White Cloud".
Click on any picture to enlarge it.
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This is an overview
map of our trip to New Zealand. We began in Christchurch and worked our way
through the South Island. We then went to the North Island to Rotorua and
ended in Auckland. |
Our New Zealand gateway city was Christchurch on the South Island. Here is a
picture of a streetcar doing a city tour, and Naimah on an old big-wheel
bicycle in the Christchurch Museum. |
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We ate at a very
fancy baronial cottage called "The Sign of the Takahe". This was one of
several lodges built to assist mountain hikers. All were named "the sign of
the ...". Next, a picture of us at the restaurant, and a detail of one of
their stained-glass windows. |
A statue of a takahe and a descriptive plaque. Once abundant in New Zealand,
this flightless bird is now almost extinct. |
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New Zealand may not
have the icons of Australia (Ayers Rock or the Sydney Opera House), but it
does have sheep, lots of sheep. |
This is called the New Zealand Traffic Jam, sheep crossing a road and
bringing traffic to a standstill.
NZ traffic jam |
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Bungy jumping
started in New Zealand. We visited the first commercial jump site.
Interestingly enough, jumps were free for seniors over age 65. |
Views of a hanging glacier (a glacier that does not reach the water level)
at about 4000 feet, taken from a Milford Sound flight. |
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Milford Sound is
not really a sound at all, it is a fjord. Here we have two views, one by
boat and the other by air. |
An aerial view of a hanging lake at 4000 feet, and a view of my aircraft's
shadow on a sandy part of a river bed. |
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An aerial view of
our approach to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. |
Sir Edmund Hillary was one of New Zealand's most notable citizens. A
memorial for him was built in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. Here is
Naimah with a statue of Hillary. Mount Cook is in the background. |
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Mount Cook, the
highest in the Southern Alps at 12,349 feet (3764 meters). Here we see it
cloaked in clouds and in blue skies. |
Aside from sheep, New Zealand is known for active
volcanoes and geothermal activity. |
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Here is a montage of additional pictures.
Mouse over any picture for a description. Click
on any picture to expand it into a larger view.
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tourist attraction earnslaw
'tss earnslaw' waitukei
sculpture bungy bungee merino sheep otorohanga glow worm glowworm kiwi
takahe geyser maori kiwi
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